9 Things You Don't Need To Be Adding To Your Smoothies

There are so many ways to make a smoothie. You can make it green or fruity, you can have it in a bowl or a cup, and you can customize seemingly endless smoothie ingredients. But while a smoothie can be a healthy breakfast or snack, choosing the wrong stuff to put in it can quickly turn your drink into a milkshake, while other ingredients simply don’t blend in.

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When making a healthy smoothie, here are some basics. First, always blend your smoothie at home instead of buying one from a smoothie chain or your gym's juice bar. “Making your own smoothie allows you to control exactly what's going in and how much sugar is added,” says culinary nutrition expert Jessica Levinson, R.D. Since it’s easy for ingredients to add up to a calorie bomb, make sure to measure your ingredients as you build your smoothie. For the healthiest smoothie, follow this recipe:

Carbs. Brisette says it’s important to stick to just one high-carb ingredient to keep your drink from becoming a calorie bomb. That means just one banana, one-quarter cup of oats, or one-half cup tropical fruit, which thicken your smoothie and add vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and fiber. You can also add up to one cup of berries, since they’re very low in calories and sugar.

Greens. If you’re not a huge fan of veggies, smoothies are obviously an easy way to sneak them in. Add as much as you want to taste; in addition to obvious picks like spinach and kale, good options include tomatoes, cauliflower, carrots, and cabbage. Cooked squash and sweet potatoes are also a yummy veggie that adds thickness—just remember they also add to your carb count.

Chia, hemp, or flax seeds. A tablespoon is packed with vitamins and fiber and serves up an extra dose of inflammation-fighting omega-3 fatty acids, says Melton. If you're not drinking your smoothie right away, save the chia seeds for later: If your drink sits in the fridge for a few hours, the seeds absorb all the liquid and form a gel that can be off-putting to some people, says Brissette.

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That said, there are some ingredients that fall into these categories that you'll want to skip out on—either because they're not as nutritious as you'd think, or because they don't lend to a great-tasting drink. Here are the main things you definitely don’t need to add to your smoothies:

Flavored and/or Nonfat Yogurt

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Yogurt adds high-quality protein and calcium—as long as it’s not the flavored stuff, which counts added sugar among the first ingredients on the label (with 10 grams or more in a teeny six-ounce cup), says nutritionist Kim Melton, R.D. What’s more, “no fat means watery yogurt,” says Christy Brisette, R.D., president of 80-Twenty Nutrition. Some research, in fact, has shown that higher-fat yogurts seem to be just as beneficial for weight loss as fat-free ones; a bit of fat in your yogurt helps make you feel more satisfied for longer. Choose 2 percent yogurt, Greek for more protein. Bonus points for those that are labeled “probiotic,” which may boost digestive and immune-system health. “By nature all yogurts contain good bacteria, but the ones that are labeled as being probiotic yogurt have to meet certain standards and have been studied,” Brisette adds.

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This simple swap will make your smoothie so much more filling:

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Raw Beets

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“Most blenders aren’t powerful enough to pulverize raw beets,” says Karen Ansel, R.D., author of Healing Superfoods for Anti-Aging. That said, beets can add a powerhouse of colorful antioxidants—plus, there is some emerging research showing the nitrates in beets might boost endurance so you have more oomph to make it through workouts, says Melton. Boil or roast a batch and allow them to fully cool in the fridge, or pick up a pack of pre-cooked beets in the produce section of your supermarket.

Fruit Juice

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Sure, a little nutrient-rich OJ can be an okay way to sweeten your smoothie—but up to one cup of whole fruit gets you the same sweetness plus volume and fiber, especially if you keep the skin on, says Ansel. Otherwise, water is a better option to thin out your smoothie to avoid a total sugar bomb. If you absolutely have to juice it, check that you’re using 100 percent juice and not a “juice cocktail,” and only add one-quarter to one-half cup plus one-half cup of whole, preferably frozen, fruit.

(Learn how bone broth can help you lose weight with Women's Health's Bone Broth Diet.)

Whole Nuts

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While nuts are a great source of healthy, monounsaturated fats that will help keep you full, whole ones can add a gritty texture, notes Ansel. Stick with a tablespoon of no-sugar-added natural peanut, almond, sunflower, or soy nut butter, she suggests.

Canned Fruit

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Many canned fruits are packed in syrup or juice, which is definitely a sugary, calorie-dense no-go. Plus with canned fruit, “you won’t get that same textural boost you’d get from frozen fruit,” says Ansel.

Frozen Yogurt

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It might be cool, sweet, and even serve up a bit of protein, but frozen yogurt “is really glorified ice cream,” says Ansel. Instead, stick with plain kefir, Greek yogurt, or Icelandic yogurt, which are all packed with protein and low in sugar, and add frozen fruit for sweetness.

Some Protein Powders

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Protein powder can be a good way to boost your smoothie’s protein content, but some options are packed with sugars and processed stuff. So be sure the ingredient list is short. “You want it to be mostly protein, not lots of fillers,” says Brisette. Choose a powder with at least 20 grams of protein and less than five grams of carbs per scoop, since you should already be getting a healthy dose of carbs from the fruit you add. Stick to a neutral flavor—it’s easy to add cocoa powder or vanilla extract if you’re craving them. And skip both artificial sweeteners (which often end in “ol”) and added sugar (anything that ends in “ose” as well as dextrins or maltodextrins).

Sugar and Fake Sweeteners

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You're already getting a decent amount of sugar from the fruit you're using—adding extra in the form of sugar could quickly turn your health drink into a carb and calorie bomb. And artificial sweeteners aren't exactly better, either. The reason sugar alcohols are low in calories is because your body can’t digest them. “That’s why they make some people gassy,” says Brisette. What’s more, she adds, fake sweeteners may mess with your metabolism. When you taste sweetness, your body prepares for an increase in energy that never arrives, which some evidence has shown may stimulate your appetite and lead to weight gain. “It seems they aren’t totally innocuous. While the research is not absolute, the more we delve into the impacts, they’re not totally zero calories and can potentially have an impact,” says Brisette.

But the good news is if frozen fruit like bananas don’t add enough sweetness, you don’t have to chug a drink you don’t enjoy. Instead, try adding a half tablespoon of raw, unfiltered honey. Research has shown that honey made the traditional way (the kind you’d pick up at a farmer’s market, which is usually darker in color than the store-bought stuff and has pollen and impurities) serves up antibacterial and antioxidant benefits, says Brisette. Just be sure to choose the purified stuff at the grocery store if you’re pregnant or have a compromised immune system, or if you’re sharing your smoothie with a little one under the age of 2.

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